PAGBABAGO

According to the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II), its primary goal  is to implement the 1987 Constitution’s mandate to provide a “policy environment” of strengthening academic freedom,” and thus, higher education should have less regulation.  Thus, it would be free of “unnecessary state interference and control.”
But, as EDCOM II co-chair Sonny Angara notes, the educational system demands accountability mechanisms for good governance.  And, as a recent piece written by EDCOM II’s chief legal officer, J.N. Estrada notes, to promote excellence and maintain high quality standards validated by accreditation organizations, the goal is to establish the policy environment that would enable us to take advantage of the transformation that would happen as a consequence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
The 4IR is expected to have a significant impact on the way we live and work. It would lead to increased productivity, efficiency and innovation. The digital transformation accompanying the 4IR is driven by disruptive trends such as the rise of connectivity, analytics, human-machine interaction, and robotics to be able to thrive in this environment; our human resources must be properly equipped with new skills. The mindsets and skills will be a combination of hard, soft, to digital skills, and apprenticeships.  Thus, the need for competencies such as the capacity to make own decisions, ability to network, connect, and multi-task, and critical thinking.
For the K-to-12 curriculum, the Department of Education is reported to have prepared a draft of the new curricula based on recommendations from the technical committees of EDCOM II. The new curricula would merge the original Araling Panlipunan with Music, Arts, Physical Education and Health (Mapeh), turning it into Sibika, Kultura, Kasaysayan, at Kagalingang Pangkatawan (Sikap) for Kindergarten to Grade 3 (Anna Cristina Tuazon, “Curriculum Fatigue.”)  According to the report, the proponents had done this in favor of the other subjects they consider “foundational” such as reading comprehension, and that merging these classes would lead to a decluttering of the curriculum.
Time will tell whether these reforms would enable us to catch up as well as shape the needed mindset that would make these efforts sustainable.
Let me share the experiences of South Korea and Vietnam  which have been successful not merely  in  addressing the needs of their educational system but also in making the latter  the primary driver  of transformation of their societies.
The South Korean experience shows adoption of certain educational priorities that could explain why they have leapfrogged into becoming a first world country. Its educational system was ranked the world’s best or second best over the past six years.  Over 50 percent of its population had completed some form of higher education and it has some of the highest rates in literacy, science, and mathematics among OECD countries.   According to several online reports, the secret of South Korea’s success may be explained by practices such as providing teachers a very privileged status. In many schools, the students have the same teacher and principal for five years. It encourages “extremely intense” studying especially in high school where students spend long hours of study.
Vietnam has been successful in closing enrolment gaps between urban and rural regions. About 95 percent of Vietnamese children are enrolled in primary school at age six. Its percentage of students in early and higher education has been increasing. It has a strong focus on instilling basic cognitive skills, numeracy, and out-paced two-thirds of other countries in the Program for International Assessment ranking at 17th out of 65 countries. It shares common characteristics with other successful education systems – commitment from government supported by high accountability mechanisms; relatively high public spending with a focus on general education, basic inputs, and equity together with high household investments, attracting and supporting qualified teachers, strong investment in preschool education, strategic use of assessments, and strong internal and external monitoring and reporting mechanisms. It also benefits from cultural aspects – placing a high value on education;  high parental expectations, and highly disciplined environments for teachers and students. (My email: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]))